あなた、あんた

[Cyborg Ninja]

I'd like to know the differences and appropriate circumstances for using あなた and あんた. I feel like I hear it used more often than I thought the words would be used. I heard it used between doctors in a J-drama. I originally thought it would only be used between couples, excluding people who just met and don't know each other's names yet.

私の質問に答えてください。

[kt_anthrax]

I think your understanding about あなた and あんた is right.

If I will add a comment,
あなた is more polite expresion than あんた.
Also, meaning of あなた and あんた almost same as "you"
But many of japanese do not use "subject" in their conversations

[becki_kanou]

Also あんた is used almost exclusively by women (and drag queens/ effeminate type gay men), so if you don't fit in either of those categories you'd probably be better off leaving it in your passive vocabulary.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Also あんた is used almost exclusively by women...

I thought so, until I heard it used in both Yakuza 4 (Ryu ga Gotoku) and Iryu 3, and it was used by men. It also showed it in the subtitles.

[Ongakuka]

Yes あんた is sometimes used by men, and like 'omae' its use would be considered insulting to people above your status (and people below your status may be offended too.) as you would expect, its just a slang form of あなた

Just as women may use あなた to their husbands in affectionate way, あんた can have the same function.

[tuber97]

I recently discovered that あなた is for someone that is..."special" to you. So should I not regularly use　あなた　for "you"? My teacher said to just use their names, but that sounds kinda weird...

I also found out that お前　is rude (lit. "the one in front of me"). So would I never use that to someone I'm not close friends with? In what situation would it be appropriate to use お前?

[NileCat]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_dif ... n_Japanese

[chikara]

..... I also found out that お前　is rude (lit. "the one in front of me"). So would I never use that to someone I'm not close friends with? In what situation would it be appropriate to use お前?

On one trip to Japan I watched the movie Face Off on TV in English with Japanese sub-titles. There is one scene where Nicolas Cage's original character wakes up with John Travolta's face and he is very, very angry. He is cursing every one around him using the F-word, "#@$% you, "#@$% you, "#@$% you". The subtile for each ""#@$% you" was お前.

[furrykef]

Well, let's not go too far in that direction, because the majority of the time you encounter "omae", it's not used as an insult. You just gotta be really, really careful with it, because it can be, and is a lot more likely to be taken as insulting in real life than in media like anime and games.

I'd say watch for when other people use "omae" (in real life, not just media) and imitate that usage -- and only when you've got a firm handle on it.

[two_heads_talking]

Omae is definately a senpai/kohai situational word. the senpai would call his kohai omae while the kohai would use other forms of keigo to his senpai. For example, you might find a father speaking to his son and using Omae, especially if he were correcting or chastising his son for doing something inappropriate.

There are many words for the word 'you'. anata, anta, kimi, koitsu, yatsu, nanji, omae, and a few others better left for another occasion. Each of these words could be appropriate depending on the situation and the person.

notice also that the honorific O is used before mae (O-mae) or one could think of it as the honorable one before me. Of course words change over time and the real meaning tends to be lost in tradition..

[two_heads_talking]

..... I also found out that お前　is rude (lit. "the one in front of me"). So would I never use that to someone I'm not close friends with? In what situation would it be appropriate to use お前?

On one trip to Japan I watched the movie Face Off on TV in English with Japanese sub-titles. There is one scene where Nicolas Cage's original character wakes up with John Travolta's face and he is very, very angry. He is cursing every one around him using the F-word, "#@$% you, "#@$% you, "#@$% you". The subtile for each ""#@$% you" was お前.

that's strange because there are much more appropriate words that could be used here besides Omae.. oh well, whoever translated that took a few ... ahhh. mmmm. liberties? lol

[Infidel]

I recently discovered that あなた is for someone that is..."special" to you. So should I not regularly use　あなた　for "you"? My teacher said to just use their names, but that sounds kinda weird...

It might sound wierd in English, but in Japanese it does not. Use their family name or position/title. Save anata for "What's your name?"

It's interesting watching Japanese show subtitles, and noticing all the times that the subtitle refers to a person by given name, or as you, and neither was ever in the Japanese. Seriously, the two can even be in a passionate embrace and still be using titles. But the subtitle will use given name, or you.

Another English-Japanese difference in name usage, is the need to mix it up. English speakers don't like repeating any one reference, using "you" or "Paul" too many times in a sentence feels wrong, so if a sentence needs to refer to someone directly, we will mix it up. Japanese do not. If a Japanese person needs to specify a person in a sentence, they will repeat the name as many times as necessary.

[persephonequinn]

I too always confused with あなた　&　あんた, so I asked my Japanese friend (on skype) what's the different. Often we heard that the wife will call the husband あなた too, so I asked him why. He too can't explain it to me until I make example.

I might be wrong, because I asked my Japanese friend and he agreed with my examples, please correct me if I'm wrong.

1. When the wife calling out the husband.
あなた、今日は忙しい？
the tone in using あなた is softer.

2. When you are talking to someone you know you use あなた too.
貴方の鞄ですか。 (normal tone)

3. When I asked about あんた he said is to use of someone you are not very close or know.
あんた誰。 (who are you?) - often we watched in on Jdrama when someone suddenly appear without someone's knowledge.

This is my understanding of あなた and あんた from my friend.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. thank you

[NileCat]

1 and 2 sound fine to me.
Are you asking about the difference between “あなた誰?” and “あんた誰?” on 3?
It seems to me that the general rules have already well explained in those posts above. I suppose your friend just wanted to tell you that あんた can convey some suspicious feelings of the speaker in the questions like “who are you?”, because あんた usually sounds blunter than あなた when it is used to a stranger.

[persephonequinn]

1 and 2 sound fine to me.
Are you asking about the difference between “あなた誰?” and “あんた誰?” on 3?
It seems to me that the general rules have already well explained in those posts above. I suppose your friend just wanted to tell you that あんた can convey some suspicious feelings of the speaker in the questions like “who are you?”, because あんた usually sounds blunter than あなた when it is used to a stranger.

Thanks for 1 & 2

Yeah, maybe he is telling me the suspicious feelings. and I do agreed with you that あんた is blunter in asking stranger.
thanks